Godinez Gonzalez sisters undefeated after Day 1 of Canada West championships

Karla Godinez Gonzalez has yet to surrender a single point through three matches at the Canada West championships. (UFV Athletics file photo)

The Godinez Gonzalez sisters led the way as the University of the Fraser Valley wrestling program had a strong start to the Canada West championships in Edmonton on Friday.

Sophomore Karla (55 kg) and rookie Ana (63 kg) both went a perfect 3-0 to open the tournament, surrendering just a single point between them. They’re both within one victory of sealing individual gold medals.

The championship is set up as a dual meet, with universities going head-to-head in each weight class in a round-robin format. The UFV women’s team had three fixtures on Friday, while the men had just one.

Karla Godinez Gonzalez blitzed the competition, defeating Tawes Messaoudini of the Calgary Dinos and Laryssa Barry of the Saskatchewan Huskies by technical superiority, and earning a 7-0 decision over Ferris Sandboe of the Alberta Pandas.

In other action on the women’s side, Brittany Chiu (59 kg) posted a 1-2 record with her win coming over Calgary’s Ciara Corbett, and Glaysia Sparling is 0-3 in the 82 kg division.

The Cascades women wrap up their run at the Canada West championships on Saturday against the Regina Cougars, with their dual scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. MT (Mat 2, CanadaWest.tv).

On the men’s side, the Cascades’ lone fixture on Friday was against Regina, and the UFV grapplers combined to win five of their seven matches.

Heavyweight Brad Hildenbrandt, the reigning Canada West and U SPORTS champ, had a close call against the Cougars’ Jordan Tholl. Hildenbrandt and Tholl are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the nation individually, and Tholl took a 4-2 lead in the second round. But Hildenbrandt came through with a pair of two-point takedowns to prevail 6-4.

The Cascades men’s wrestlers are busy on Saturday, facing the Saskatchewan Huskies (9:30 a.m., Mat 1), Alberta Golden Bears (12 p.m., Mat 1) and Calgary Dinos (2:30 p.m., Mat 2). All the times listed are Mountain time, and all matches will be streamed at CanadaWest.tv.

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Media Contact: Dan Kinvig

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The University of the Fraser Valley is situated on the unceded traditional territory of the Stó:lō peoples. The Stó:lō have an intrinsic relationship with what they refer to as S’olh Temexw (Our Sacred Land); therefore, we express our gratitude and respect for the honour of living and working in this territory.